The Office Cat
Babysitting grandfathers
The Miss Wilkes County and Little Miss Pageants held at the Pope Center Saturday were a great success in many ways. There was a total of 52 girls and young ladies competing for honors. Seven of these were in the Miss 16-18-year-old division which named Miss Wilkes County. Ashley Barnett, who herself has competed in numerous beauty pageants, coordinated this pageant with help from many individuals. . . . This event christened the newly-renovated and enlarged Pope Center and it was a beautiful sight to behold with all the decorations and beautiful girls. A total of 275 chairs had been set up for the Miss Wilkes County division Saturday night. They were all full and there were 75-100 people standing.

Gracen Ware, a sophomore at Washington-Wilkes Comprehensive High School, was named Miss Wilkes County and will make her first appearance as the reigning queen at Mule Day on October 13. Gracen is the daughter of Cristy and Dean Ware. She is the granddaughter of Frances and Norris Ware of Washington; and Mr. and Mrs. Marvin Banks of Lincolnton.

Jonathan Chapman of Washington Wilkes has been awarded a Purple Heart for combat injuries received in Iraq. He is the son of

Pastor and Mrs. Jimmy Chapman of Victory Baptist Church and we'll have more about this award as the information comes in.

Grandfathers obviously make good babysitters! I remember not so long ago that Harris Blackmon frequently flewto Newnan to stay with his new grandson, Trey Blackmon, son of Edward (Bubba) and Becky Blackmon, in family emergencies. . . . Now I hear of Allen Burton, another new grandfather, "flying low" in his little red truck to Gainesville to babysit his grandson, Grier Burton, on a Sunday afternoon. Grier is the son of Bonner and Lindsay Burton who both had job-related commitments Sunday afternoon.

State Superintendent of Schools

Cathy Cox was in Washington- Wilkes to visit our schools and offer her congratulations to the Washington-Wilkes Elementary School for being named a Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education School.

Dr. Greg McLeod is now practicing his veterinary medicine exclusively at his clinic in Lincolnton and, according to wife Debbie, is missing his people and animals in Wilkes County. He's still available to anybody who needs him, and I'm sure his Wilkes County people and animals miss him. He's not retiring -- just making a change. His Lincoln County clinic needed his help.

A hundred-room hotel with the Pope Center as the core?? It's a possibility according to some city officials. Read about it.

Norris says at the end of September we have a 10.41-inch deficitof rain for the year and there is none predicted anytime soon. The total rainfall (recorded by Norris) for September was a mere 1.8 inches. The total for the year is 25.15 inches.

The Washington Historical Museum has an exhibit of the Victorian Traditions of Mourning in place October 1-31. "Mourning in the Old South" is the title of the exhibit.

"Tales from the Toombs" and "The Mysteries of the Museum," a haunted tour, is set for October 27 from 6-9 p.m. at the Robert Toombs House and the Washington Historical Museum, respectively.

Don't miss The Washington Follies at The Playhouse on North Alexander Avenue Friday, Saturday, and Sunday this week.

Debbie Wells will soon be opening her new art gallery called Gallery LaPlace on The Square in Downtown Washington. The gallery will be located in the building most recently housing The Purple Palette next door to the Jockey Club. The building dates back to 1797 and the site was the original home of a French refugee whose last name was LaPlace.

The Christmas 2007 issue of Early American Life magazine contains an article about the Washington- Wilkes Christmas Dinner and Tour of Homes on December 7-8. The article is accompanied by a picture of the home of Mark and Emilie Waters on East Robert Toombs Avenue, decorated for Christmas. The article reads, in part, "On Friday, homes in the Victorian and Craftsmen style are open for the candlelight tour from 5 to 9 p.m. Saturday's stops on the Town and Country Tour include plantation houses, historic homes, and a museum. . . . A champagne reception precedes dinner at the various homes where diners are entertained with holiday music."

Evelyn Danner is an avid gardener and has at her home a spectacular plot of moonflowers.The flowers open around 6 p.m. so that nightflying moths can pollinate them and their petals fall off the next morning. Evelyn began gardening as a child and knows just what to do to make things grow. You can see a picture of her moonflowergarden in next week's paper.

Hal and Nancy Farris are new owners of Fortson Hill, former home of Lawrence Hyde (before that, Mike and Phyllis Scarborough) on Spring Street. They have painted it a beautiful color and somebody in the family likes flowers. On each side of the steps to the sidewalk are perfectly planted plants that all blend together to make a beautiful area. Some rocks are used, too, and other objects.

Looking down the line a little at some interesting events coming up -- Mule Day, October 13; Market Day, October 27; Art Fest and I'd Rather Be In Tignall Fall Festival, November 3; Rayle Ramble, October 27; Daylight Saving Time ends, November 4.

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